What happened
Another day and more volatility for the cryptocurrency market. This time there's some good news and some bad news from the industry that seems to be taking slow and steady steps toward a more mature business model.
On the positive side, Tezos (XTZ 6.84%) jumped 5.7% in the last 24 hours as of 12:45 p.m. ET as Alphabet's Google announced it will become a validator. But Solana (SOL 5.20%) dropped 7% and Huobi (HT) dropped 10.1% along with a broader drop in the industry.
So what
Tezos moved higher after Google announced that it would become a validator for the network. This will allow customers to run a node on Google Cloud, which will allow project developers to build on the blockchain. In theory, this will make the blockchain more accessible to developers and bring Tezos more in line with competitors.
Solana Spaces, retail stores that were built to onboard new users to Solana with digital goods and physical merchandise, announced it was closing New York City and Miami stores. This was supposed to be a place to show off Solana innovations like the Saga smartphone, but lower activity on the blockchain and a falling price has made it difficult to run a retail store. This isn't really a direct impact on the token or the blockchain, but rather a sign that Solana and other cryptocurrencies haven't yet hit mainstream adoption.
The price of Huobi's token has dropped today, but it's still been a good week for the token. The exchange related to the token announced it will seek to be one of the first exchanges allowed in Hong Kong after the region announced pro-crypto rules. The fight for market share will likely be fierce, so early movers may have an advantage.
There are often speculative moves in cryptocurrency, but all three are based on fundamental changes in the business today.
Now what
While the news has been relatively positive for Tezos and Huobi this week, the challenge of attracting users continues to be a challenge. And an exchange like Huobi is entering a market where competition is driving margins to zero.
Tezos has a community of artists, but transactions and contract calls have been falling consistently for a year, according to blockchain statistics.
Solana has seen transactions grow for more than a year, despite all of the challenges the blockchain has been through.
Crypto has ups and downs and today is no different. But the long-term value will come down to what's built on the blockchain and the number of users interacting with the technology. That's why my money is on Solana out of these cryptocurrencies, but short term the market likes the news from Tezos.
